The present invention relates to the personal vehicle art, particularly for patients and physically disabled persons. The present invention finds particular application in passenger support systems which are adapted to be received within larger vehicles, such as automobiles, for patient transport. The present invention finds particular application in a seating arrangement which is adapted to be manually propelled carrying a single patient and which is further adapted to be positioned within the passenger compartment of an automobile or other motor vehicle and will be described with particular reference thereto.
Heretofore, positioning of patients and disabled persons in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle was relatively difficult. Commonly a wheelchair or like vehicle was positioned adjacent an open door of a motor vehicle. The patient or disabled person was then manually lifted or slid from the wheelchair to the motor vehicle seat. The wheelchair was frequently folded and placed in the vehicle trunk. Upon disembarking the motor vehicle, the process was reversed.
The transfer between a wheelchair and the vehicle seat was often awkward and difficult, particularly for disabled children. The geometry of the motor vehicle door relative to the seat, relatively low roof lines, the positioning of the wheelchair, and the like, provided obstacles for assisting the disabled person. Particularly, it was difficult for an assistant to position themselves in an advantageous position without reaching over or around various obstacles imposed by the wheelchair and the motor vehicle.
One chair for facilitating access into motor vehicles is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. Re. 30,867, reissued Feb. 16, 1982 to Edward Gaffney. The Gaffney chair was designed to be positioned totally within the motor vehicle passenger compartment. The front portion of the chair was dimensioned to be positioned on the vehicle floor as a rearward portion and the wheels were slid across the vehicle seat. Sliding the rear wheels on the seat of the motor vehicle tended to soil and damage the seat. Further, various wheel mounting and underframe structures which could damage the seat further were positioned adjacent the rear wheels of the chair. To position the Gaffney chair in a normal car seat orientation required retracting the rear wheels. The retraction and extension of the rear wheels while supporting and manipulating the chair into and out of the vehicle was found by some attendants to be awkward.
The present invention contemplates a new and improved vehicle which overcomes the above-referenced problems and others.